{"product_id":"funeral-diva-9780872868113","title":"Funeral Diva","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eFuneral Diva\u003c\/i\u003e is the Winner of the Lambda Award for Lesbian Poetry!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA poetic memoir about coming-of-age in the AIDS era, and its effects on life and art.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Sneed is an acclaimed reader of her own poetry, and the book has the feeling of live performance. . . . Its strength is in its abundance, its desire for language to stir body as well as mind.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Parul Sehgal, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"She is a writer for the future, in that she defies genre.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Hilton Als\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This notable achievement, traveling from youth to adulthood, is a harrowing  account of how Sneed transforms violence and pain into an artist's life.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eClaudia Rankine\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eCitizen: An American Lyric\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"There's an eerie sense of timeliness to this book, which features prose and poetry by the writer and teacher Pamela Sneed and is largely — though  not entirely — about mourning Black gay men killed too soon by a deadly  virus.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eTomi Obaro, \u003cem\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"OH MY GOODNESS, it was amazing. I was in tears by the end. What starts off as beautiful memoir evolves into incredibly moving poetry, painful and sweet and lovely.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Marie Cloutier, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Balancing and mixing, with rhyme and reason, love and anger, good and bad, memory and the created present, all to tell the story of a life, a memoir  unrestrained, devoid of artificial forms. Honest. Free.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eAnjanette Delgado, \u003cem\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this collection of personal essays and poetry, acclaimed poet and performer Pamela Sneed details her coming of age in New York City during the late 1980s. \u003cem\u003eFuneral Diva\u003c\/em\u003e captures the impact of AIDS on Black Queer life, and highlights the enduring bonds between the living, the dying, and the dead. Sneed’s poems not only converse with lovers past and present, but also with her literary forebears—like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde—whose aesthetic and thematic investments she renews for a contemporary American landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOffering critical focus on matters from police brutality to LGBTQ+ rights, \u003cem\u003eFuneral Diva \u003c\/em\u003econfronts today's most pressing issues with acerbic wit and audacity. The collection closes with Sneed's reflections on the two pandemics of her time, AIDS and COVID-19, and the disproportionate impact of each on African American communities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Riveting, personal, open-hearted, risky and wise.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Schulman\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eConflict Is Not Abuse\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\" . . . a tour de force about the collision between a coalescing 1980s 'Black lesbian and gay literary and poetic movement' in New York and the onslaught of AIDS.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eDonna Seaman,\u003cem\u003e Booklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Pamela Sneed's \u003cem\u003eFuneral Diva\u003c\/em\u003e is deft, defiant, and devastating.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Tommy Pico\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eFeed\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eFuneral Diva\u003c\/em\u003e is urgent and necessary reading to live by. This is writing at its finest.  Keep this book close to your heart and soul.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Karen Finley\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eShock Treatment\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reminiscent of Audre Lorde’s \u003cem\u003eZami\u003c\/em\u003e, Pamela Sneed’s memoir is, in itself, a healing balm, affirming in its truths and honesty. I cannot remember ever reading a book that illustrates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on our community more poignantly than \u003cem\u003eFuneral Diva\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Nicole Dennis-Benn\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003ePatsy\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Pamela Sneed takes enormous risks in this book. She tells the truth with fierce concentration and an abiding sense of purpose.”—\u003cstrong\u003eDorothy Allison\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eBastard Out of Carolina\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pamela Sneed","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42981615304822,"sku":"9780872868113","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_865b4f86-da54-4294-a431-c17ddb0e18cd.jpg?v=1768585003","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/funeral-diva-9780872868113","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}